by Joanne Lynch

Created on: June 07, 2009

What had just happened? Why were they running away instead of getting help? My mind was flooded with these thoughts and I was in utter shock. My feet were moving beneath me but I felt my legs go weak beneath me. The sand was wet and cold. I could smell the salty air and it was humid, but I was shivering. I was panicked.

I could hear Johnny struggling beside me. He was tugging at my arm, willing me to go faster but saying nothing. I could hear his breathing, ragged and short as he tugged my arm harder. I was going as fast as I could manage. My legs were tired and I kept stumbling on the thick, cold, hard, wet sand. I wanted to shout and I wanted to cry out to him but I couldn't. I just kept willing myself to go faster and I was powerless to stop Johnny from urging me forward.

The sound of the waves were no comfort to me now, as they had been, earlier. We had been with friends. It was a perfect night. We had roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on the beach. Some of our friends had a little too much to drink but it was all in good fun. Most of them were planning on camping out on the beach. Our small seacoast town was one of the last towns that still allowed such things.

Then, they had come onto the beach. A group of them. They had come up over the dunes, drunk and looking for trouble. The gang of teenagers were rowdy. They were shouting obscenities at the females on the beach. They were dressed in clothes that were clearly gang related. Our town often would have trouble with a local city gang, out to break up peaceful groups of people on our cozy beach. Tonight was no exception. Except, tonight, our group was ready. I just wasn't aware of how ready.

Had I known, I probably would have declined the invitation. I knew Johnny well. He was very over protective and careful when we went out. But, here, in our little sea coast town, you rarely had to worry about violence. Except lately, these gangs had been terrorizing our friends and brutalizing our families. We had been told many stories about late night parties on our beaches and the horror that followed when gang members showed up in our unsophisticated little town, and knocking on doors, pulling pranks and robbing the elderly.

You just never think it will happen to you. So, I had accepted the invitation. I had gone with them to the beach. My parents had warned me about the increasing violence but I had grown up here and finally, at graduation, I wanted to celebrate with my friends. I wanted to spend one last

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